The Reckoning
|
This page is a stub. |
|---|---|
| Key elements of this article are incomplete. You can help Destiny 2 Wiki by expanding it. |
The Reckoning was a four-player Arena activity in Destiny 2 introduced during Season of the Drifter. Co-organized by the Nine and the Drifter, it served as a PvE counterpart to Gambit Prime. The activity was vaulted with the release of Beyond Light on November 10, 2020.
Contents
Overview
The Reckoning took place in The Haul, the mysterious space towed behind the Drifter's ship. Players entered this realm to face waves of Taken enemies in a timed challenge designed to test their combat abilities and teamwork. The activity featured three difficulty tiers that unlocked progressively throughout Season of the Drifter.
Gameplay
Objectives
The activity consisted of two main phases:
Phase 1: Dominance
- Players had to eliminate Taken forces to fill a progress meter to 100%
- Defeating enemies in rapid succession granted bonus progress
- Failing to maintain the kill pace caused progress to decrease
- A timer counted down throughout this phase
Phase 2: The Bridge
- Upon reaching 100% in Phase 1, a black gate opened revealing a bridge
- Players had to capture sections of the bridge while under time pressure:
- First section: 50 seconds
- Subsequent sections: 30 seconds each
- Taken forces continuously spawned to prevent progress
- Successfully crossing the bridge led to the final boss encounter
Boss Encounters
Different bosses appeared based on the active rotation and difficulty tier. These powerful Taken enemies required coordinated team strategies to defeat before the timer expired.
Rewards
The Reckoning served as the primary source for:
- Gambit Prime armor - Role-specific armor sets with unique perks:
- Reaper set
- Collector set
- Invader set
- Sentry set
- Gambit Prime weapons
- Synths - Materials used to create armor in conjunction with the Drifter
Higher difficulty tiers provided better rewards and more powerful armor pieces.
Difficulty Tiers
The Reckoning featured three tiers of difficulty:
- Tier I - Base difficulty, available from launch
- Tier II - Increased enemy density and stronger opponents
- Tier III - Maximum difficulty with the toughest modifiers and bosses
Each tier required progressively higher Power levels and better coordination between fireteam members.
Strategy
Success in The Reckoning often depended on:
- Super chaining - Coordinating Super abilities to maintain constant offensive pressure
- Well of Radiance - Warlocks using this Super for team survivability
- Tether - Hunters controlling enemy spawns with Shadowshot
- Add clear weapons - Weapons with high crowd control potential
- Communication - Coordinating captures and Super usage
The activity's limited cover and aggressive enemy spawns made it one of the more challenging PvE experiences in Destiny 2 at the time.
Connection to Gambit Prime
The Reckoning formed half of Season of the Drifter's core gameplay loop:
- Complete Gambit Prime matches to unlock Reckoning access and earn Synths
- Use Synths in Reckoning to create role-specific armor
- Return to Gambit Prime with enhanced armor perks
- Repeat for stronger armor tiers
This interconnected system encouraged players to engage with both activities to maximize their effectiveness in either mode.
Trivia
- The Reckoning was one of the first activities to feature matchmaking for high-difficulty content
- Many players referred to the bridge section as one of the most challenging encounters in the game
- The activity's design influenced future Arena-style content in Destiny 2
